Christmas Gifts for Foodies–Gadgets

'Tis the season! Christmas is coming, and I wanted to help you out by letting you know about the hottest items out there this year for the Foodie on your list (or perhaps yourself?). I'll have a few of these over the next couple of weeks, but let's start with Gadgets.

I don't know anyone that's a foodie that doesn't love their gadgets. They start with the basics: favourite knives, specialty pots and pans, electronic gadgets. But it's always really nice to get tools that you maybe wouldn't necessarily buy for yourself because they are specialty items you maybe don't use every single day. That's what today's list is all about. By the way, stay tuned until the end--I'm giving some away!

Christmas Gifts for Foodies--Gadget Edition

Spiralizers. These gadgets turn vegetables into long, skinny, pasta-like strings, that you can then use to replace pasta (for lower-carb or gluten-free diets), or awesome salads or slaws. They also make fantastic garnishes. About $30, available at Well Seasoned (maybe! they're having a hard time keeping them in stock).

StayBowlIzer: this acts as  kind of support and frame for your bowls, and it's made of silicon, so you can put hot bowls into it. You'd use this for whipping cream, or making a zabaglione. About $25 from Well Seasoned.

AquaZinger: this cool li'l water bottle features a compartment that you can place berries, cucumbers or citrus into. It flavours your water all day long, without having floaty bits that get stuck in the straw. Ain't nobody got time for that! About $25, from Well Seasoned.

Cookie Scoop: they look like miniature ice-cream scoops, but they are actually for making uniform cookie dough balls, or you can even use them for meatballs. About $15 from Amazon. 

Donut Pan: I love, love, love mine! Doughnuts are all the rage, and with these, you can make healthier, baked versions in the oven. About $14 from Amazon.

Silpats: these silicone, re-usable non-stick mats replace disposable parchment paper in the kitchen. I use mine for baking, but I also use it for freezing--I'll put it down on a cookie sheet, then freeze a single layer of berries or vegetables. After they're frozen, I transfer to a ziploc bag for better storage. They are hugely useful, but can be expensive, so make a great gift. About $15-25, depending on size, from Canadian Tire.

A good set of peelers: a good peeler is essential in any kitchen. It needs to be comfortable and safe. I'm not a fan of the straight peelers--I prefer the wider or Y-shaped versions. I really like this peeler from Crisp, and I'm giving away a set of three today! There's a regular peeler, a julienne peeler, and a serrated peeler. Out of these three, my favourite is the julienne peeler. It does the same job as the spiralizer above!

Contest

To win this set of three peelers from Crisp, either for you or to give away as a gift to a foodie friend, let me know in the comments section below who's the person in your house that ends up with the peeling jobs. We'll try to make their lives a bit easier. 🙂

Gain an additional entry to the contest by tweeting: 

[Tweet "Enter to win a set of 3 peelers from @rebeccacoleman and @CrispCooking:"]

Contest runs until midnight, December 7. I'll draw one winner at random from all the entries.

A big thanks to Angie Quaale at Well Seasoned, a Gourmet Food Store in Langely for helping me out with this blog post.